Boeing, Clear Sky to advance Firefly’s SAF technology
Firefly announced that aerospace manufacturer Boeing and Clear Sky, investment firm dedicated to sustainable aviation, plan to invest in Firefly’s technology to convert sewage waste into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
The investment, subject to due diligence, is part of Boeing and Clear Sky’s collaboration to accelerate sustainability solutions for aviation. As a first project of this collaboration, the two companies will test and advance Firefly’s technology to increase SAF production in the UK.
Moreover, Boeing will also provide training, direction and facilitation on testing that will accelerate the qualification of this new route to SAF.
“Clear Sky combines many years of investment expertise with knowledge on aviation’s decarbonization challenges. Firefly’s technology holds transformative potential as the SAF feedstock, sewage waste, is accessible in all regions of the globe,” said Brian Moran, Boeing’s chief sustainability officer.
Firefly uses sewage waste feedstock to produce SAF through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) which uses heat and high pressure to convert waste into biocrude oil and biochar, a powdery substance that can be used as a fertilizer.
Earlier in April, Firefly Green Fuels announced their plans to build a pilot sewage-to-SAF facility at Haltermann Carless refinery site in Harwich, Essex.
The company said the pilot facility will construct the facility by 2027 followed by a planned first-of-a-kind commercial-scale plant by 2029.